The same day we passed outside of Paris and bivouacked in a place rich in everything, called Vaugirard. The 1st of July we reached Meudon, a superb place. We could see by the walled gardens and orchards, and by the size and good condition of the houses, that we were in the suburbs of the most beautiful city in the world, and yet we were in the midst of the greatest danger and suffering, and our hearts bled in consequence. The people were kind and friendly to the soldiers, and called us the defenders of the country, and even the poorest were willing to go to battle with us. We left our position at eleven o'clock in the evening of the 1st of July, and went to St. Cloud, which is nothing but palace upon palace, and garden upon garden, with great trees, and magnificent alleys, and everything that is beautiful. At six o'clock we quitted St. Cloud to go back to our position at Vaugirard. The most startling rumors filled the city. The Emperor had gone to Rochefort--they said; the King was coming back--Louis the XVIII. was _en route_--and so forth. They knew nothing certain in the city, where they should soonest know everything. The enemy attacked us in the suburbs of Issy about one o'clock in the afternoon, and we fought till midnight for our capital. The people aided as much as possible; they carried off the wounded from under the enemy's fire; even the women took pity on us. What we suffered from being driven to this, I cannot describe. I have seen Buche himself cry because we were in one sense dishonored. I wished I had never seen that time. Twelve days before I did not know that France was so beautiful. But on seeing Paris with its towers and its innumerable palaces extending as far as the horizon, I thought, "This is France, these are the treasures that our fathers have amassed during century after century. What a misfortune that the English and Prussians should ever come here." At four in the morning we attacked the Prussians with new fury, and retook the positions we had lost the day before. Then it was that some generals came and announced a suspension of hostilities. This took place on the 3d of July, 1815. We thought that this suspension was to give notice to the enemy, that if he did not quit our country, France would rise as one man, and crush them all as she did in '92. These were our opinions, and seeing that the people were on our side, I remembered the general levies which Mr. Goulden was always talking about. But unhappily a great many were so tired of Napoleon and his soldiers, that they sacrificed the country itself, in order to be rid of him. They laid all the blame on the Emperor, and said, if it had not been for him, our enemies would never have had the force or the courage to attack us, that he had exhausted our resources, and that the Prussians themselves would give us more liberty than he had done.